Names
by WaffleDogOfficial
Summary: When the red-headed woman walked into the coffee shop, Tenten already knew exactly what kind of customer she was going to get. A coffee shop AU in which Tenten misspells Karin's name in increasingly creating ways.


**Day 6 of Naruto Femslash Week 2019 demands a rarepair! Enjoy the obligatory Coffee Shop AU. I took the prompt from Tumblr.**

**The prompt comes from Tumblr: "I'm a barista and you're the obnoxious customer who comes through and orders a venti macchiato while talking on the phone the whole time so I misspell your name in increasingly creative ways every day AU." (from jonahryan).**

_xOxOxOxOxOx_

When the woman walked into the coffee shop, Tenten already knew exactly what kind of customer she was going to get.

The woman had shaved the left side of her head while keeping her vivid red hair long on the right side. She had crimson red eyes that seemed like they could bore through walls. She was wearing brown glasses and had an annoyed expression on her face.

She was talking loudly on her phone, yelling something about not ordering enough petri dishes. The woman stomped to the back of the line on high heels, where she stood tapping her foot impatiently while continuing to yell at the poor person on the other side.

On the register next to her, Hinata tensed. She was not very good at dealing with obnoxious customers. With a small nod, Tenten pointed to herself and Hinata's shoulders relaxed. _I'll take care of it._

"One venti caramel macchiato with soy milk," the woman said when she reached the counter, cell phone on her ear. "Two stevia. Extra cream. Make it fast."

"Of course," Tenten answered, forcing a smile on her face. "May I have you name, please?"

"Karin," the woman answered before returning to her phone conversation. Apparently, the other person had also forgotten to order new notebooks on top of the petri dishes.

Annoyed, Tenten wrote _Karen_ on the cup before passing it over to Neji at the espresso machine. When Tenten gave the woman the price, she passed her credit card, brandishing it like a knife.

When the woman left a few minutes later, high heels clacking on the tiled floor and a cup of coffee in her hand, the atmosphere inside the shop immediately improved. Tenten and Hinata let out a huge sigh of relief. _That_ kind of customer always managed to bring the mood down. They smiled at one another and continued working, hoping that the woman wouldn't show up again.

_xOxOxOxOxOx_

The woman, Karin, began to visit their coffeeshop every morning. The mood worsened every time she was there but Tenten always took her order politely, forcing her widest smile.

As a small form of petty revenge, however, she had started to misspell her name in increasingly creative ways. Over time, _Karin_ became _Karen_ and _Karen_ became _Carena _which in turn became _Chiryni_. Tenten wondered if the woman has noticed.

_Probably not. She keeps coming every morning._

Tenten had started looking forward to her visits. If that terrible woman was going to come in every day, then she was going to have fun with it.

_xOxOxOxOxOx_

For two weeks, the terrible woman continued to appear every morning, not bothering to say anything to the staff. Tenten always took her order and wrote increasingly strange names on the coffee cup.

However, one morning, the woman opened the door with a spring in her step as she waited in line. For the first time, she didn't have her cellphone in her ear and was instead looking down and reading something on her phone.

"Good morning, I'd like a venti caramel macchiato with extra whipped cream, please," she said. "Two stevia and with soy milk."

Tenten was taken aback. "Sure. May I have you name, please?"

"Karin," the woman answered without looking up from her phone.

"That will be $4.50," Tenten said as she typed up the order.

"Of course, here is my card," the woman said and handed over her credit card with perfectly manicured fingers.

"Here is your receipt," Tenten answered politely, handing back both the card and the paper.

"Thank you," the woman answered distractedly.

"You're welcome! Have a nice day!"

"You too," the woman left the line and walked to stand by the counter to wait for her drink.

Tenten looked at the cup in her hand. She had been thinking about what new ridiculous name she could use since the previous night, but the woman's polite behavior had taken her by surprise. Instead of writing her typical petty names, Tenten wrote _Karin_ instead.

_xOxOxOxOxOx_

After the first time she visited the cafe in a good mood, the woman's behavior improved remarkably and Tenten continued to write only _Karin_ on her coffee cup. They also began to speak more.

"I finally finished getting the lab ready for my professor!" the woman said with a twinkle in her eye. "For the last few weeks, I felt like tearing my hair out every day. Especially because my lab mates are complete and total morons."

"Really? What are they like?" Tenten asked.

It was the first time that the woman had said anything to her beyond basic pleasantries and she was curious. Besides, the cafe was mostly empty and Hinata was already attending to the only other person in line.

"Urgh," the woman grunted. "Suigetsu is an irresponsible idiot and he only likes to play games while we're supposed to be working. Juugo is a little better, but he sometimes gets incredibly angry when things don't go his way. If it weren't for me, they would have already burned down the lab."

"That sounds terrible," Tenten sympathized. Neji and Lee were good friends and co-workers, but when they got together, they could be a mess, too. "Do you work in a lab or are you a student?"

"Kind of both. I'm finishing my Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering but it's also my job to take care of the new lab that my supervisor is setting up," she explained as she took the receipt from Tenten's hands. "Anyway, I have to go. Thanks for letting me vent."

The woman pushed her glasses up her nose before giving Tenten a small smile and a wave.

When Tenten turned her gaze back to the familiar order written on the coffee cup, she wrote down Karin's name. Under that, she wrote 'Good morning.'

_xOxOxOxOxOx_

Tenten began to look forward to whenever Karin came into the cafe. After she had finished setting up the lab, her mood was much better and she talked to Tenten often.

Hinata and the other staff were beginning to notice the change and the mood improved any time Karin came in. Although Karin was no longer angry and rude, Hinata continued to send her to Tenten's register where the two women enjoyed talking to one another.

"I don't think we've officially met," Karin said one day as she handed over her card. "My name is Karin Uzumaki. I work in the Oto Medical Research Center as part of my doctorate studies. What's your name?"

Tenten was caught off guard by the sudden introduction but took it in stride. She pointed at her name tag.

"My name is Tenten. Uh... I work here. I'm a part-time student at Konoha University. I'm getting my master's in kinesiology. Um... not sure what else to say," she said sheepishly.

Karin waved away her insecurity and stuck out her hand. "That's nice. Nice to officially meet you, Tenten."

"Nice to officially meet you too, Karin," Tenten shook her hand and marvelled at Karin's warmth.

Her hands were lined with small scars and Tenten wondered where they came from. She took her hand back, tilted her head, and smiled happily at Karin. Karin returned her smile while shifting her glassed up with her fingers.

"I hope we can talk a little bit more soon," Karin said before taking her receipt and card from Tenten.

"Me too." Tenten was only a little surprised to realize that her answer was genuine.

She turned her gaze back to the empty cup in her hand and wrote down Karin's name. Underneath it, she wrote 'Good morning.' She hesitated for only a second before drawing a little heart next to it.

Tenten blushed at herself but passed the cup towards Neji at the espresso machine anyway. She wondered if Karin even read whatever she wrote in the cup. She didn't seem to have noticed anything about all the creative and imaginative ways Tenten had written her name before. Comforted, she returned to her work at the register.

_xOxOxOxOxOx_

"You know, I kinda miss the creative ways you used to write my name," Karin said one morning while she paid.

Tenten paused her work to stare at her incredulously. "Huh? You noticed that?"

She covered her face with her hands and looked away. Next to her, Hinata tensed in a way that told her that she was listening. From the silence emanating from the espresso machine and the food counter, she could tell that Neji and Lee were listening as well.

Karin huffed in amusement. "Of course I did. It was one of the few good things about my life from when I was getting the lab set up. I took pictures of the most creative ones. It was a bright spark in those hellish days. I think K-H-I-R-E-N-E was my favorite, though," she spelled out the word.

"I didn't think you noticed since you never said anything," Tenten tried to explain, eyes down to avoid making eye contact with Karin.

"Because if I told you, you would have stopped and I would have had to find new ways to cheer myself up," Karin crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "I do want to know why you started, though."

"You were kind of rude the first day you came in, so I tried to have my tiny revenge on you," Tenten explained, expecting to be yelled at.

Instead, Karin laughed, clutching at her stomach. "Oh that's too much! I _was_ pretty rude, wasn't I?"

"Maybe just a little," Tenten answered as she watched Karin shaking with laughter.

"I'm glad we got to know each other better though," Karin answered once she stopped laughing.

"Yeah, me too."

"I want to know more about you, Tenten," Karin said as she locked eyes with Tenten. "Why don't we get together one day for lunch?"

"Lunch?"

"My treat," Karin winked at Tenten.

"A-Are you sure?" Tenten fought to beat down her blush but failed miserably.

"Only if you want a date," Karin said.

Tenten wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but Karin seemed to be puckering her lips while pushing her chest out. Involuntarily, she wondered what her lips tasted like and felt her face burn at the mental image. Karin must have realized what Tenten was thinking because she smirked at Tenten's face.

"It'll be a lunch date," she said as she leaned forward. "At what time do you get out of work?"

"At twelve o'clock?" Tenten's voice hitched up in terror. "But it takes me about fifteen minutes to get ready afterwards."

"I'll pick you up at 12:30," Karin said. "Here's my card. I'll see you soon, bye."

Without waiting for Tenten to respond, Karin held out a business card and placed it in her hand. Tenten took it numbly, still too embarrassed to react. She could tell that Neji and Hinata were holding back giggles while Lee was laughing as he prepared a sandwich.

Red-faced, she refused to say anything and placed the business card securely in her vest pocket. She looked down at the empty coffee cup and wrote down Karin.

She hesitated for only a second before writing her phone number underneath.

_xOxOxOxOxOx_


End file.
